A Joy Fulfilled
by Westel
Summary: A special day, a wedding day, and everyone is there, as John Gage walks down the aisle.


A Joy Fulfilled  
by Westel

John Gage stood nervously in the church alcove, waiting somewhat impatiently for the service to begin. He tugged at the too-tight collar of his dress shirt and felt just a bit hot in the formal, black tuxedo that framed his slim physique in the mirror opposite where he stood.

Never in all his life had he imagined that this time would come, and so soon! Yet here it was, and the long-awaited day had dawned bright and clear, the L.A. smog temporarily relieved by recent rains and a brisk, north wind which left only fluffy white clouds in a bed of blue.

Gage cleared his throat and flicked an imaginary speck of lint from his coat, catching a whiff of the white carnation in his lapel, a special gift from Joanne given with a few tears and a kiss on the cheek. He smiled gently, recalling the many times Joanne had welcomed him into her and Roy's home, treating him like one of the family, caring for him when he was injured or ill, loving him even when he felt he had been unlovable. She and Roy, along with the kids, had been his family ever since he'd joined the paramedic program, and now they would all share this special day together. He breathed deeply to calm his nerves, and glanced at his watch.

_Almost time…_

There was a flurry of movement as the procession music swelled, and a door opened. The bride stepped forth in a mist of white, her flowers clutched tightly in her hand, and made her way slowly toward him.

_This is it,_ he thought, and smiled at her. She smiled back, barely visible through the veil, and took his arm as the ushers and bridesmaids passed down the aisle, two-by-two. Johnny could feel her tremble as they waited, and squeezed her arm gently.

"You are absolutely beautiful," he said admiringly.

She looked up at him through eyes as blue as the sky outside and squeezed back, hoping he understood why she couldn't speak just now.

The music changed and the congregation stood, looking back toward them.

"Here we go," Gage said, and started forward. She held him back a second, knowing that despite the emotions she felt so strongly, she must somehow speak her heart to this man standing beside her.

"I wouldn't… I wouldn't want _anyone_ but you to be walking me down the aisle, Uncle Johnny," she said, using the old family name she called him when she was little.

Gage swallowed hard and managed to smile. "That sure goes for me, too, sweetheart." And he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead through her veil.

Starting slowly, the man and woman walked down the center of the church, friends and family watching, the young groom standing proudly near the altar with the pastor, his eyes only for his lovely bride as she approached him.

Their walk was unhurried. Hayley DeSoto caught the eye of many a person as they walked, and smiled or blew a kiss to those very special people in her life. One row was completely filled with John's firemen buddies, nodding and smiling as they went by. Even Chet Kelly grinned at them beneficently. Joanne stood in the front row, radiant with happiness, and Chris stood next to her, wearing his father's smile.

Hayley looked up at Gage again and whispered, "Do you think Dad knows?"

Tears sprang to Gage's eyes, but he answered with conviction in his voice. "Oh, he knows, honey. He knows."

The couple stopped just in front of the altar, and there was a pause. For a moment Johnny was aware of something next to him -- soft, warm, like a human heartbeat. Johnny's eyes drifted to Joanne, and she smiled at him with trembling lips and moist eyes. In her hands was Roy's dress uniform hat, graced with a white carnation of its own.

Then, all things being ready, the pastor said the familiar words: "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

Johnny straightened and stepped away from Hayley, placing her hand in the care of her husband. He looked beyond the pastor and the altar to the stained-glass window behind them, and was blessedly aware of the joy of a promise fulfilled at last. _'This is for you, Roy,'_ he whispered.

He looked back at the pastor and said, in a voice that resonated through the building, "Her mother and I do."

_End_

_For friends who have left us but will never be far away… with all my love. MP_


End file.
